There are hitherto known a rather great number of diverse types of intraocular prosthetic lenses otherwise named lenticuli, comprising an optical element (usually a lens), and supporting setting elements adapted for the prosthetic lens to insert into a patient's eye. The supportng elements were usually made from thin wire structures curved in an arcuate form or as loops, or else as platforms. One of such prosthetic lenses with the supporting elements as platforms is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,851 issued on July 14, 1981.
Such a prosthetic lens comprises an optical element made fast in between two diametrically opposite supporting elements, each of these being in fact an arcuate supporting platform intended for being fixed in the anterior eye chamber. Each of the supports has coplanar legs running in the opposite directions as far as the boundary of the eye chamber. Recesses are provided in the outside lateral edges of the supporting elements, said recesses being located on any side of a transverse line passing square with said lateral edges and through the centre of the prosthetic lens. The posterior surface of the optical element is situated underneath of the plane of the legs.
However, the aforediscussed intraocular lens implant suffers from a number of cardinal disadvantages, since unilateral implantation of such a prosthetic lens, wherein the posterior surface of the optical element is arranged above the plane of the legs results in a high degree of anisoiconia. Implantation of the intraocular prosthetic lens of such a construction causes emptying of the anterior eye chamber, which in turn results in injury to the endothelial cells of the cornea. Moreover, even an inconsiderable discrepancy between the lens size and the diameter of the anterior eye chamber, when the length of the prosthetic lens is less than the aforesaid dimension of the patient's eye, mobility of the prosthetic lens may result, which might lead to some postoperative complications, such as corneal edema or iritides.